Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The honourable Leader of the Opposition asked me about inflation. I would draw his attention to repeated statements by the Reserve Bank of Australia over a long period of time about the inflationary challenges which existed in the Australian economy and the capacity constraints which underpinned those inflationary pressures—a failure on the part of the previous government to invest in infrastructure and in skills at a critical time of need. The consequence of that was successive interest rate rises, and the consequence of that was felt by Australian mortgage payers right across the country with 10 interest rate rises in a row. I would suggest the honourable Leader of the Opposition pay very close attention to the economic record of those opposite on the inflation question and on the interest rate question. This government has a clear economic strategy for the period ahead. We intend to get on with the business of running the economy.

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